Stormywx Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Hello, Newbie to this site. I appreciate in advance any help in identifying the species this belongs to. I believe it to be a Mossasaur jawbone. This was found in a bank in the North Sulphur River in Fannin County, Texas. The overall length is around 34 inches. It's not the hardest thing as you can see from areas it has crumbled. Any advice on best practices/methods to reconstruct it and make it more stable are appreciated. My plan so far is to use E 6000 clear to match and attach pieces as best I can. This was left to me by an old best friend who passed recently. We hunted this area for years finding well over a hundred mostly intact Mossasaur vertebrae, and lots of fish bones, teeth etc. This is by far the most interesting piece. Most Mossasaur jawbones that I can locate online do not have the serrated teeth on the back of the jaw. All I see are teeth that look similar to the teeth in Pic 4. pic 3 shows the transition between the serrated (Grinding?) teeth and the incisor style carnivore teeth. Maybe this species evolved to better crush Ammonites? I'm hoping someone with knowledge here can confirm it's a mossasaur, and hopefully a species ID. Is there a way to estimate the overall size of this creature, knowing the jawbone is 3 feet long? All help, comments, or suggestions are very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormywx Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 Hello, Newbie to this site. I appreciate in advance any help in identifying the species this belongs to. I believe it to be a Mosasaur jawbone. This was found in a bank in the North Sulphur River in Fannin County, Texas. The overall length is around 34 inches. It's not the hardest thing as you can see from areas it has crumbled. Any advice on best practices/methods to reconstruct it and make it more stable are appreciated. My plan so far is to use E 6000 clear to match and attach pieces as best I can. This was left to me by an old best friend who passed recently. We hunted this area for years finding well over a hundred mostly intact Mosasaur vertebrae, and lots of fish bones, teeth etc. This is by far the most interesting piece. Most Mosasaur jawbones that I can locate online do not have the serrated teeth at the back of the jaw. All I see are teeth that look similar to the teeth in Pic 4. pic 3 shows the transition between the serrated (Grinding?) teeth and the incisor style carnivore teeth. Maybe this species evolved to better crush Ammonites? I'm hoping someone with knowledge here can confirm it's a mosasaur, and hopefully a species ID. Is there a way to estimate the overall size of this creature, knowing the jawbone is 3 feet long? All help, comments, or suggestions are very much appreciated. I posted this mistakenly as a reply to the info page on submitting. Opps. can't see a way to delete it, so sorry for the double post. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Looks more like Basilosaurid whale jaw. 4 There's no such thing as too many teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brevicollis Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Thats a big Basilosaurus jaw ! 1 Are good signatures really that important ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 MOVED TO IT'S OWN TOPIC IN FOSSIL ID. ALSO - TOPICS MERGED. Welcome to the Forum. This looks like a Squalodon jaw to me. Let's call in some others to be certain, though. @MarcoSr @Al Dente @Boesse @sixgill pete Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brevicollis Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 9 minutes ago, Stormywx said: This was left to me by an old best friend who passed recently Sorry to hear that , Welcome to the Forum. Are good signatures really that important ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 39 minutes ago, Stormywx said: This was found in a bank in the North Sulphur River in Fannin County, Texas. I think the locality is incorrect. This is most likely Eocene. It is an achaeocete whale jaw. Could be Basilosaurus as previously mentioned but I’m not sure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormywx Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 I'm fairly certain of the locale. We hunted primarily at NSR, although he did some hunting on the trinity river near Dallas occasionally. His dad said NSR is where he found it, but I wasn't there, nor was he so it is possible that it came from another area. What areas in TX/AR/LA would you consider to be hunting areas for that period? I know he didn't roam too far from Shreveport LA. I guess NSR is only cretaceous period? I see now the teeth are identical to achaeocete whale jaw. Thanks for that. So, not a mosasaur, but still a nice piece. Thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fin Lover Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 3 minutes ago, Stormywx said: So, not a mosasaur, but still a nice piece. Great piece that most of us would love to find! 2 Fin Lover My favorite things about fossil hunting: getting out of my own head, getting into nature and, if I’m lucky, finding some cool souvenirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 1 hour ago, Al Dente said: I think the locality is incorrect. This is most likely Eocene. It is an achaeocete whale jaw. Could be Basilosaurus as previously mentioned but I’m not sure. 1 hour ago, Fossildude19 said: MOVED TO IT'S OWN TOPIC IN FOSSIL ID. ALSO - TOPICS MERGED. Welcome to the Forum. This looks like a Squalodon jaw to me. Let's call in some others to be certain, though. @MarcoSr @Al Dente @Boesse @sixgill pete I agree with Eric. that the jaw is an Achaeocete whale jaw, probably from the Eocene, so I also think that the locality is incorrect. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I also agree with Al Dente. Archaeocete whale from the Eocene. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 1 hour ago, Stormywx said: What areas in TX/AR/LA would you consider to be hunting areas for that period? This map will show you where to find Eocene strata in Texas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormywx Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 1 hour ago, Al Dente said: This map will show you where to find Eocene strata in Texas. Thanks for that, it does help. My guess is the way the Eocene spreads out in east Texas, it's likely that continues on into LA and the Shreveport area. I know he hunted native American artifacts for 30+ years in that area, it's more likely he came across this somewhere around there. I really appreciate your help in clearing up this mystery. This is an awesome site. His family is giving me a lot of his collection, I'm sure there will be other things I can't identify. I do believe all the vertebrae we found in NSR are Mosasaur, But after seeing some of the whale vertebrae, I'm now not so sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Your Louisiana guess seems probable. The Red River valley East of Shreveport, especially down near Natchitoches and Montgomery, have extensive Eocene exposures and Archaeocete remains are well documented from the area. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 5 hours ago, Stormywx said: I'm sure there will be other things I can't identify. I do believe all the vertebrae we found in NSR are Mosasaur, But after seeing some of the whale vertebrae, I'm now not so sure. If you have good photographs of those, someone might be able to help. There's no such thing as too many teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormywx Posted February 25 Author Share Posted February 25 22 hours ago, Thomas.Dodson said: Your Louisiana guess seems probable. The Red River valley East of Shreveport, especially down near Natchitoches and Montgomery, have extensive Eocene exposures and Archaeocete remains are well documented from the area. Your guess is even better.... I found underneath the jawbone a tiny piece of paper with Montgomery, LA written on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Great specimen. And excellent responses from our group. Good detective work. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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